Field of Disclosure
Embodiments described herein generally relate to a solar powered cooling system that can produce a wide range of cooling temperatures in a single thermodynamic cycle.
Description of the Related Art
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Solar powered cooling systems are a viable technology to exploit the abundant solar energy in order to provision the increasing demands for air-conditioning and refrigeration. Specifically, in countries with high temperatures during the peak summer months, the solar energy can be used to provide efficient cooling and refrigeration requirements and thus reduce the power consumption that is used to provide cooling. For instance, in the gulf countries, approximately 50% of the produced power is allocated to be used for cooling and refrigeration systems.
Research and developmental activities in the area of thermal power generation are based on concentrating solar power (CSP) systems. Such CSP systems are deployed in grid connected plants and are best suited for utility-scale applications that generate up to 400 mega-watts of power. Such CSP systems are typically, single-cycle thermodynamic systems that provide only one range of cooling temperatures. For instance, the solar driven ejector-absorption refrigeration cycle provides cooling only in the range from −23° C. to 17° C. and is thus suitable only for refrigeration purposes.
However, many industrial applications require a wide range of cooling temperatures to be achieved simultaneously by a single thermodynamic system. For instance, applications such as vaccine preservation, production of dry-ice in pharmaceutical applications, etc. require cooling in the range from −50° C. to −80° C. The use of a dedicated CSP system for each cooling application having a different cooling temperature range is not a cost-effective solution. Accordingly, there is a requirement for a single thermodynamic system that can produce different cooling temperature ranges to address the cooling requirements of different applications.